New York SBDC Research Network

For those of us whose eyes strain at the end of the day from viewing the tiny text of Web sites, here's an option that might bring some relief. Big.com is a search engine that, among other things, enables a viewer to see search results (and photos) in a larger font. In addition, the site is now promoting their "Big Toolbar," a free download that can help you make any page look bigger. You can increase text size in Internet Explorer or Firefox, but this toolbar makes it an easier process.

Licensing is a form of strategic alliance which involves the sale of a right to use certain proprietary knowledge (so called intellectual property) in a defined way. The intellectual property may be registered publicly, for example in the form of a patent or trademark, as a means of establishing ownership rights. Or, it may be retained within the firm: referred to as know-how, it is commonly based on operational experience. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licensing_(strategic_alliance) LIMA or the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association Who publish the Who’s Who Licensing Resource Directory and compile statistics and other information on the industry as well as organize an annual convention. Their website has licensing database available to members and a database of licensing agents and consultants open to all. Licensing and Licensing Agreements in a Nutshell also The Royalty Deal byRobert Townsend, Attorney At Law Is a good overview article on licensing and other informatio

Grants are not so easy to find. So when I saw an article about a grant awarded to a company that sold New York food products, I wanted to know just who it was giving out this free money. Turns out it was New York State’s Grow New York program, a “multi-faceted program that assists the economic development efforts of New York's agricultural production, processing and marketing industries.” More information can be found at: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/GROWNY/GNYHome.html Looks like a good resource for those food entrepreneurs. From this site it is just a hop to the Farm & Market Search through the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets. While the library has a paper copy of the Farm Fresh Guide, there is an online version as well: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AP/FFGSearch.asp This database has information on different farm products or services organized by region or county, particularly useful for restaurants wanting to use local products. There is also the Farmers’ Market

Perhaps you thought the Census Bureau only tracked people and housing. Or perhaps you were also familiar with the Economic Census of businesses. But did you know that there was an Annual Survey of State and Local Government Employment and Payroll? The 2005 data on the number of government civilian employees and their gross payrolls is now available. The 2004 report showed most full-time equivalent employees worked in education. Other employment categories include corrections, financial administration, fire protection, health, hospitals, judicial and legal, police protection, public welfare, streets and highways. For details, go to http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apes.html .

How can you tell how many people visiting your site actually become customers? At Clickz.com , they claim to have come up with a formula and while they do not reveal the formula, they do discuss a few things to think about. Calculate Your Online Conversion Rate ROI Marketing Sponsored by WebTrends By Bryan Eisenberg August 13, 2004 Mal Watlington , president of specialty consulting group, City Square Consulting , offers a blog on the topic of online conversion: Online Conversion & Beyond discussing a variety of topics on marketing. Put the "Find" Back in Search To Increase Online Conversion Rates Activepoint By Moshe Ofer November 1, 2005 The Art of Online Conversion: Four Steps From Interest to Acquisition by Brian Dempsey June 27, 2006

From InfoWorld: Learn more about the current trends in regulatory compliance and how companies are dealing with multiple regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPPA, by reading The Struggle to Manage Security Compliance for Multiple Regulations. This white paper offers key findings from the 2006 Security Compliance Benchmark Research Report, such as: - Three out of four organizations must comply with two or more regulations and corresponding audits. Nearly half must comply with three or more regulations. - The frequency of regulatory and IT security audits have dramatically increased. - Many companies that employed manual, labor-intensive procedures to complete audits are now utilizing ways to automate the process. Click HERE.

This is long overdue. My apologies. Last April, we knew we were moving to new offices. We also knew that our old methods of doing things could be improved. Because of this, we created a survey for distribution to SBDC advisors, which Roger administered & tallied. Of the 112 people surveyed, we received 65 responses (nice response rate - thanks!) Your responses were then the basis of the Research Network presentation at the Staff Training event in May. Since not every respondent came to our presentation, I thought you'd like to know the results: 1. Do you pose research requests for JUST your clients? Just my clients (57) For clients of others in the office (2) Depends (6) 2. How often do you make requests to the RN? Daily (2) Two/three times a week (6) Weekly (8) Two/three times a month (22) Monthly (9) Rarely (14) Never (0) Other (4) 3. If the answer to the previous question is "rarely" or "never," please explain why (more than one might apply): I do